Is Resistance By IQ really that good?

Just finished the second disc, didn’t impress me as much. Will listen again throughout the week

Nogbad_The_Bad wrote: My biggest problem (as usual with neo bands) are the lyrics and vocals.

I agree, though that is my second biggest problem. The ubiquitous synthesizer string patches become grating rather quickly.

Very good record. I gave it five stars and I really believe it's worthy of that score. Their best? Maybe (Road Of Bones is incredible). Better than Wobbler? No way, Jose!!!

I am of the opinion that most "art" and more is overrated and underrated by someone from an objective standpoint. Rating Resistance highly because you love it would not be overrating it, claiming that it's the most original, exciting, and best music ever would be, or making claims as objective fact that wouldn't stand close scrutiny. I've seen various people make claims of merit and demerit about bands and albums that were verifiably wrong. It's important to try to separate the subjective from the objective when using a term such as overrated and underrated from my perspective (should have an explicit framework of analysis/ criteria).

I took the time to listen to quite a bit, more bits and pieces throughout, and it sounded dull and derivative to me, and over-produced, and referenced music styles that I dislike. I couldn't fairly judge it that way, even based on my taste. Albums can take time to grow on one too. Those echo effects on the vocals annoyed me. That said, Neo-Prog is not my thing, and while the album is not my taste, I won;t complain about others who love it even if it is dull to me, and I find it derivative. There's some derivative music that I love, it just has to be derivative of the kinds of music I love (that said, I wouldn't hold it in as high regard as the orginators in that sense even if I enjoyed the music more, and sometimes who I thought were the originators weren't as original or innovative as I thought once I got to know related earlier music).

By the way, at rateyourmusic, a general music site but one where albums commonly get many more ratings, Resistance has three reviews, 57 ratings, and a 3.88 rating. Here it has a 4.64 with 105 ratings and seven reviews.   Sometimes when such albums come out, we do get people joining PA just to rate/review such albums (and sometimes one user posting multiple times under different accounts), but I haven't reviewed the raters much. There have been times when groups have tried to manipulate the placement/ranking, but I'm not noticing a problem of that like this time (In those cases people often prop up one album while down-rating others). At this times we have seen huge numbers of ratings over a very short period of time.

I don't give much heed when it comes to how I should value something by how an album is ranked or rated generally, or chart positions. I'd rather follow trusted raters, generally, who share similar tastes to my own. An album may be very professionally made, yet I hate it. To each his or her own tastes. That said, general ratings can be a good guide for me when it comes to artists that I care about or ones that I want to look into of styles that I am into.


Edited by Logan - October 14 2019 at 12:30

For such a long album (108 minutes and 37 seconds), you have much more patience than I do. There's so much great for me music out there that I couldn't be bothered spending so much time with an album that I found boring. I don't have to love an album initially, but if nothing grabs or at least intrigues me musically, then I would be unlikely to wish to return to it (at least in full). I have sometimes heard albums when In the wrong mood, not enjoyed them much, come back and loved them, but this won;t be one of those albums as it's too removed from my tastes (that said, it did have some moments I liked, but those were quickly spoiled). To be honest, it's not an album I even would want to acquire the taste for.

I found both Dark Matter and Frequency more interesting/enjoyable on a melodic level than Road, and I still haven't listened to the new one.

It's good but it's not blowing me away in the way that Dark Matter did. It will drop down the ratings over time.

I'm still waiting for it to hit me in the manner TROB did.